Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies

My husband isn’t big on desserts. I know. I don’t get it, either. It breaks my heart, actually, because I love to bake, but when the finished product is ready (and nowadays, blogged about and photographed), I’m left with a huge dessert that no one will eat but me and the kids. And I only allow the kids very, very small bits of dessert. So, really, if I make a whole pie, and it disappears in two days, I have no one to blame but myself. It’s getting to be a problem (for my waistline, not for me). When I lived alone in San Francisco, and was attending culinary school, I was baking something new almost daily. When I noticed the scale starting to tip in the wrong direction, I started taking my desserts downstairs to the homeless man who lived on my block, Cliff. The look on his face every time he saw me coming is something I’ll never forget. That small experience really helped to solidify my passion for baking.

The one dessert my husband loves, though, is a really good chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. After almost a decade with the man who eats only brownies as a sweet treat, I think I’ve got them mastered. Here is a brownie recipe that will sway even the biggest dessert nay-sayer.

Ingredients:

8 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1 box if using Baker’s)

2 sticks (1 c.) butter, plus more for greasing baking dish

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

1.5 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Generously grease 9×13 baking dish with butter

Melt butter and chocolate together for 2-3 minutes in the microwave, stirring at 30 second intervals until completely melted

In a large mixing bowl, combine chocolate mixture, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

Add flour and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix

Stir chocolate chips into batter, and pour into prepared dish

Bake 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean (but with a few fudgy crumbs) from the center of the dish